FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT DERRICK ROSE - PAGE 2

Last week, Bulls superstar point guard Derrick Rose shed a much-publicized round of tears during the unveiling of his new Adidas shoe . On the mend from a season-ending knee injury, his return not scheduled until late in the 2012-13 NBA season, with know-nothing douche bags like me speculating that he will not be the same player, Rose said this during his highly emotional press conference: “It's truly a blessing. With all of the stuff that's going on in this city, a kid from Englewood has got something positive going on. That makes me feel so good.

Here in Chicago, sports talk has become consumed by snide disdain for star point guard Derrick Rose as he remains on the bench during the playoffs while the Bulls hobble on after an impressive if battering series against the Brooklyn Nets. Now that they're playing LeBron James and the Heat, I hear Bulls fans making openly hostile comments about Rose remaining on the injured list despite being “cleared to play.” My favorite overheard joke is that the Bulls are going to erect another statue outside the United Center, this one of Rose peering from the end of the bench in a suit.

Waiting for Derrick Rose to come back to the basketball court is the ultimate test of patience for Bulls fans. The end of the 2012-13 regular season is almost here, and the closest anyone has gotten to seeing D-Rose play has been in practice and during pregame shootarounds. Everyone wants to know: When is Rose is coming back? Sportswriters get that question from friends and family a few times a day, if they're lucky. On most days, it's more. So you might think for Rose's teammates, the questions about when he's coming back would be a huge distraction.

When Derrick Rose went down with a torn ACL in Saturday's playoff-opening game at the United Center against Philadelphia, sports talking heads were near unanimous in their declaration that the Bulls could not win a championship without their superstar point guard. Fans, while perhaps dubious, pledged their support, believing the Bulls can persevere as they did when they went 18-9 during the 27 games Rose missed during the regular season. Tuesday night began the test of those two competing lines of thought.

The story of the night at the United Center on Halloween was--of course--Derrick Rose's return to action in front of the home fans and his game-winning shot with less than 10 seconds to play. The morning after, however, another person is emerging as a star of the night: Mikey Gendell. He is one of the fans dressed in Victorian garb that got some screen time during TNT's national broadcast, but it is Scott Strazzante's picture of the fan after the game that has people talking.

It's hard to believe, but there are some basketball fans in Chicago who don't believe in Derrick Rose anymore. Taking an entire season off to get his knee healthy angered many and caused many more to make character assessments of the South Side native. Derrick Rose is selfish. Derrick Rose quit on his team. Derrick Rose is not a leader. Derrick Rose has no heart. All these things were said about the Bulls star last season, and the fan base that celebrated him as the "anti-LeBron" seemed to turn on him overnight.

At what price, victory? The Bulls are sitting comfortably in the middle of the playoff-contending pack in the NBA's Eastern Conference, having just held currently sixth-seeded Atlanta to the second-lowest final score in Hawks history. The Bulls, even without Derrick Rose, are a good team. They are also horrible. They are a crime against eyeballs. How dare you. They're winning. They're hanging in there without Rose and once he comes back, everything is going to be fine again.

Well, Bulls fans, we've made it to the All-Star break. You know what that means: We're halfway through the second season without Derrick Rose and without much hope of the playoffs. Last week's confirmation that Rose won't be back on the court this season made us wonder just what the team has been up to while we were distracted with Olympics, hockey and Olympic hockey. Here's a look at the Bulls' season so far. The standings Overall record: 27-25. With Thursday's win over Brooklyn, the Bulls improved to two games over .500 for the first time since Nov. 21. Indiana has a 13-game advantage on the Bulls, the second-best team in the Central Division.

Leave your answers in the comment section. You might score an invite to appear in RedEye. 1. What was your favorite moment of the Carlos Zambrano era? 2. How could Theo Epstein convince a team to take Alfonso Soriano? 3. How can the Bulls stop Dwight Howard, who just had 28 pts, 20 rebs.? 4. How do you feel when you see Derrick Rose hit the floor after a hard foul? 5. Injuries are piling up for the Blackhawks. Do they have a problem?